“You’re late with your blackmail, young man,” the woman interjected, standing beside Valeria. “Valeria’s mother confided that secret to me more than ten years ago. She knew perfectly well that your father’s family would try to take everything from her when she was gone.”
Before Mateo could react or take a step forward, police sirens began wailing loudly outside the boutique, illuminating the glass walls with red and blue lights. The shop owner showed her cell phone, on which a call to the emergency services had been active for several minutes, recording each of Mateo’s confessions.
“The authorities and Valeria’s royal family’s lawyers are outside,” the woman added calmly. “Your plan is over.”
Mateo’s face turned completely pale. The confidence and control he had displayed crumbled in an instant. He tried to turn toward the main exit, but the door was opened from the outside by security agents along with Valeria’s friends, who had suspected something was wrong and alerted the authorities in time.
As the officers escorted Mateo out of the boutique amidst the astonishment of passersby, silence once again enveloped the elegant establishment. Valeria looked at herself one last time in the large mirror. The white dress no longer represented the blind illusion of a sham marriage, but rather the symbol of her liberation and the strength she had inherited from her mother.
With a slight smile of relief, Valeria let down her hair, took a deep breath for the first time all day, and began to unbutton her dress with the absolute certainty that her new life, truly free and authentic, had just begun.
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